Two Ghosts - Ruel Van Dijk (Completed)

Chapter 24 - Bruises

Ruel had been surprisingly open since that day. I left him alone shortly after the hug, because it seemed like he wanted me to. And he hadn't spoken of it since. So neither did I. And now it was Saturday, and I was nervous as fuck. We were all going to the beach with the Van Dijks, and now that it was nearing summer, we were going to swim. And Ruel was coming this time.

I know. It sounds weird that he would break down one day, and decide to come to the beach the next. But I knew better. It was probably an act to try to display to his family that he was okay, when he definitely was not.

I stood outside of the car in a yellow dress over my floral bikini, admiring the heat from the sun shining down on my face. Yes. I was wearing a bikini today. Whether or not I decided to take the dress off was the real question. I turned my attention off the midsummer sun to the house next door when I heard the door open. Out came the two blonde girls, one in a midi dress, one in a jumpsuit. After them were Kate and Ralph, Ralph in jeans for whatever reason, Kate in a white dress with a really big hat. And finally, there was Ruel. Ruel in one of his hoodies with swimming shorts underneath. Which yes, did look, let's say unique, but I knew why he had done it. It was great that he was even coming. He looked joyful, his eyes glimmering in the sun, a slight smile painted on his lips, but I knew that could be another act.

I flashed him a quick glance, gesturing for him to come over to me. He looked around him dumbly, but strode lazily toward me. Once he was in front of me, I said what I needed to.

"Are you okay?" I muttered under my breath, making sure that my facial expressions didn't display what we were talking about. We had to be discreet about this. I watched as his smile dropped, just for a second, and returned.

"No, probably not," he plastered a grin, almost making a joke of the situation. But he was trying to hide what we were talking about, as was I. "But when am I ever?" he drawled, as he turned around and walked back to his family's car.

The car ride to the beach was quick, but I was stuck with my family's blabber, so it felt like hours. My parents were always obsessed over 'family bonding time', so I wasn't even allowed to listen to music. I was staring out the window, just watching the houses go by because quite simply, I had literally nothing else to do.

"Are you going to swim today Sunday?" I heard my dad ask. I didn't even know the answer to that.

"Maybe, I'll see how I feel," I replied plainly. If I didn't feel like swimming, I would go browse some of the shops by myself. Apparently there were some good shops around Manly, which is the beach we were going to (Manly is just a popular beach in Sydney before you ask:))

We got to the beach at about 1:30, which left the whole afternoon of doing whatever. I set up my towel about 2 metres away from my parents and spotted Coco and Sylvie about 10 metres away with the rest of the Van Dijks. They had already stripped down to their bikinis, and looked like they were going to go swim.

"Hey Sunday, do you wanna come in with us?" Sylvie called over to me.

"Maybe in a bit!" I called back, smiling. But I knew that probably wasn't going to happen. I waved them off as they ran down to the water, then sat down on my towel, grabbing my book. Not even two seconds later, he appeared.

"Sunday," I heard him drawl my name in the way he always does. I tipped my head back to see Ruel's towering figure leaning over me. His head was tipped down towards me, making his hair hang down over his face. He'd done this appearing thing so many times, I'd learnt not to be surprised by it anymore. "We're going in."